In a medium pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Place the pumpkin, onion, and garlic in a steamer basket. Cook for 10 minutes until the ingredients soften. Set the cooked ingredients aside.
In the blender, transfer 1 cup of the cooking water, add ½ cup of the coconut flakes and blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape the edges from time to time. Spread ¼ cup of the coconut cream and set aside.
Add 3 cups of the cooking water, the remaining coconut flakes, pumpkin, cooked onion and garlic, optional dates, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, and salt. Mix until obtaining a smooth and creamy consistency. To keep it warm, transfer the thick liquid to the pot and heat over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the assorted pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with tamari. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
Divide into bowls and garnish with a tablespoon of coconut cream. Top with parsley and sprinkle with fresh pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.
Placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator, this pumpkin soup will keep for three days.
Notes
For more flavor, add this:
Thai Red Curry - Sauté 2 tablespoons of red curry paste in ½ tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes until really fragrant, then add it to the recipe.
Ginger - Sauté 1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger in ½ tablespoon of oil, then proceed to the recipe.
Cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika - stir in ½ teaspoon of each of the spices. Turmeric, cilantro, and cayenne pepper - stir in 1 ½ teaspoon of ground turmeric and cilantro and ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
If the soup is too sweet, try to balance the flavors with other tastes:
Acidic ingredients - 1 teaspoon of lemon, apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar)
Bitter ingredients - 1 ½ teaspoon of ground turmeric to retain color.
Spicy ingredients - hot sauce, chili peppers, or ground dried peppers. If none of that works, double the recipe (without the sweet ingredient, of course).
If the soup seems too runny during cooking, increase the heat so that the excess moisture evaporates. Do not leave it on high heat for too long: the soup thickens as it cools. Other solutions to thicken it involve adding a powdered thickener like flour, corn or potato starch, arrowroot, guar gum, or xanthan ... This also makes it possible to obtain a smooth result. If it is still too runny, add pasta, rice, tapioca, or potatoes to absorb the excess liquid.